POINT AND CLICK TO Balitang Balita TITLE ABOVE TO SEE PREVIOUS POSTS (IF NOT CURRENTLY DISPLAYED) ***** NEWS: OFTEN TIMELY, USUALLY RELEVANT, SOMETIMES IRREVERENT, NEVER BORING

BLINDSIDED by the NTC Cease and Desist Order of May 5, 2020, the Kapamilya network is banking on two scenarios to get right back to airing on Channel 2 and DZMM.

The first track is through the legislative route of getting the usual 25 year franchise. It was obvious that there was little time left for the proposed bill to hurdle the House of Representatives so the idea of a franchise extension was initially considered by ABS CBN allies in the House of Representatives.

In the rush to RAILROAD the mechanism for the Kapamilya network to reopen up to the end of October of this year which would have allowed the regular franchise bill to be discussed more thoroughly, the extension bill passed on the second reading and should have sailed smoothly for the third and final reading with a then seemingly assured en banc voting thus completing the House component on how a bill becomes a law.

The extension bill would have been sent to the Senate where more than a majority of the sitting senators have already expressed support for the network.

Legal eagles in the House pointed out to a possible violation of the Philippine Constitution because the first and second readings were done on the same day contrary to the specific provision enshrined in the Basic Law of the Land. After some discussions on whether to remedy the situation by recalling the second reading so as the process to be repeated but on another day, the extension bill was DUMPED, JUNKED and quickly FORGOTTEN and the current proceedings are geared towards a regular 25 year franchise. On a strategic level, the regular 25 year franchise bill is obviously the way to go. In fact, it should have been the course of action since 2014 when the first renewal bill was filed. However, little action happened since that time and come franchise expiration time, there was a mad rush and NTC issued a Cease and Desist Order which resulted in the closure of the network. The House Speaker has publicly stated that they would be finished by August, at the earliest. With all the twists and turns and many more hours of deliberations needed, ABS CBN is at the mercy of the pace in which their law is being crafted.

The second track towards a quick return to airing is through a Supreme Court Temporary Restraining Order, however, this was not granted. Theoretically, there is still a chance that it would be issued but again, that decision would be up to the Supreme Court and their own appreciation on whether a TRO is indeed a necessary relief or to just allow the legislative process to continue towards the 25 year franchise.

ABS CBN is bleeding money to the tune of PHP 30 million to PHP 35 million per day. Faced with an uncertain future, it could have opted just to wait it out for a few months. However, at the rate things are happening in the House of Representatives, their pending bill could drag on indefinitely since Congressman Marcoleta could make life difficult for the Kapamilya network as he has already inflicted many wounds on ABS CBN. And then there is Sol Gen Calida who is perfectly capable of devising lethal legal land mines to slow down and possibly deal a mortal blow to the ABS CBN pending franchise bill.

The Kapamilya network is obviously going to spend tons of money to get their programs back to public view (in another channel and other platforms – cable, satellite, etc.). ABS CBN is already online through social media but accessibility and reach are major problems so they have to explore other avenues to have more eyeballs on their various screens.

Will advertisers be back? They probably will test the sales and marketing initiatives but they will not be pouring the same mind boggling amounts that they used to spend on ABS CBN, at least until the Kapamilya network is able to dominate the market like it used to.

It has now been said that with the COVID 19 pandemic, it is a whole new world out there so the situation will be the same for the Kapamilya network, they simply have to SURVIVE and hopefully inch their way back to old glory but it could take some TIME.

****************************

Top ABS-CBN shows returning on new channel

Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine Star)

June 7, 2020

MANILA, Philippines — Broadcast giant ABS-CBN will be bringing back its popular programs, which stopped airing due to the closure of the network last month, on a new channel that will be available on cable and satellite TV nationwide beginning this week.

ABS-CBN said the “Kapamilya” channel will be available on SKY, Cablelink,
G Sat and most member-cable operators of the Philippine Cable Television Association nationwide beginning June 13.

The cable and satellite TV channels that will carry the Kapamilya channel are owned and operated by other companies and are not covered by the cease and desist order issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to ABS-CBN.

“Encouraged by the overwhelming love and support of the public, ABS-CBN remains committed to serving its audiences even after it was ordered to stop operating its radio and television stations on May 5 by the NTC,” the company said.

ABS-CBN said its well-loved shows would be aired on the channel, including “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano” and “TV Patrol.”

Aside from the programs that will be going back on air, ABS-CBN said some new shows would also be launched.

While the Kapamilya channel will initially be seen only by cable and satellite TV viewers, ABS-CBN said it would find ways to reach more Filipinos around the world.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives is set to continue hearing ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal application even during its break.

The chamber adopted the motion of Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez authorizing all standing and special committees to conduct public hearings or inquiries after the Congress adjourned sine die last Friday.

The committees on legislative franchises and good government and public accountability has conducted several hearings on the matter and is scheduled to continue hearing next week.

The House leadership has vowed to immediately resolve the bill seeking renewal of the network’s franchise after the NTC ordered its closure last May 5, a day after its 25-year franchise expired. Edu Punay

Like this:

Rep. Rodante Marcoleta claims ABS-CBN has not been paying the correct taxes, with zero payment in 2018, while its rival GMA-7 pays billions of pesos each year.

ABS-CBN has been using its TV and radio clout to get its favored candidates elected, claimed Rep. Rodante Marcoleta.

ABS-CBN might as well change its station slogan, “In the service of Filipinos worldwide.”

This as a congressman on Tuesday slammed the network for allegedly exhibiting bias in favor of former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo and Senator Grace Poe when they ran for the presidency in previous elections.

SAGIP Party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta took to task the shuttered television and radio station during the joint panel hearing by the House of Representatives over its alleged partisanship instead of practicing fair and objective broadcasting.

“ABS CBN has been biased and partisan in favor of particular candidates and against certain candidates during the 2010, and 2016 presidential candidates, contrary to the terms of its franchise and in violation of the omnibus election code.”

(It’s known to many, if not to all people, how pro-Noynoy Aquino was ABS-CBN in 2010 and pro-Grace Poe and pro-Lenu Robredo in 2016.)

Marcoleta, who was requested by the House leadership to speak on behalf of those against the ABS-CBN franchise application, cited as example the non-airing by the network of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s political advertisements already paid during the 2016 presidential election.

Likewise, Marcoleta said only a temporary restraining order issued by a court stopped ABS-CBN from airing negative advertisements paid for by a senator on the eve of the end of the campaign period.

The lawmaker said ABS-CBN should not get a new franchise to broadcast so it can be stopped from meddling in politics, adding in Filipino, “it’s time the people choose their leaders and not those chosen by ABS-CBN.”

Addressing ABS-CBN, Marcoleta said, “You are a broadcasting company, not a political kingmaker, either you play ball or you play fair.” He also urged the network to answer the allegations against it, instead of resorting to “emotional appeal.”

ABS-CBN, he said, violated the terms and conditions of its franchise by offering multiple channels in one franchise through its TV Plus boxes, without permission from Congress or the National Telecommunications Commission.

The network was also accused of violating its franchise by engaging in tax avoidance schemes.

According to the data which Marcoleta presented, GMA-7 paid Php 1.09 billion in taxes in 2017 whole for that same year ABS-CBN paid only Php 421 million.

GMA paying billions

While claiming to be the country’s top broadcast network in 2018, ABS-CBN avoided paying taxes that same year by asserting it has a negative income tax in the amount of Php 84 million. That same year, its rival GMA-7 paid Php 1.08 billion in taxes, Marcoleta said.

ABS-CBN also eluded paying the correct taxes in 2019 by paying only Php 152 million or 40 percent of watered-down tax liability by entering into a compromise agreement with the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the lawmaker said. GMA7, for its part, paid Php 1 billion in taxes that same year.

Marcoleta also cited allegations that the ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation Incorporated (ALKFI) — an organization under ABS-CBN which facilitates the network’s social development program is being used as tax shield of the firm. He claimed that the ALKFI failed to file a donors’ tax.

Said Marcoleta in Filipino: “This is saddening my countrymen. When a politician or government official does charity work, ‘epal’ (limelight hog) is what ABS-CBN calls him. But when it’s from Lingkod Kapamilya, ABS-CBN’s name is glorified. But we all know that the funds they use are from donors.”

Marcoleta said the firm should have done charity works while complying with the law and paying the correct taxes.

Further in his speech, he said the grant of a legislative franchise is a privilege and not a right as he appealed to his colleagues not to grant ABS-CBN franchise.

“It is but right for the House of Representatives to deny this time the franchise of ABS-CBN for flagrantly violating the constitution and related laws even its own franchise making it unworthy of the grant of this special privilege by the state.”

A day after ABS-CBN’s franchise expired on 04 May, 2020, the NTC issued a cease-and-desist order (CDO) against the network on the advise of the Solicitor General that the grant of provisional authority to operate to the network while its franchise application is being tackled by Congress is illegal.

The network has filed a case against the NTC before the Supreme Court (SC) while praying for the issuance of a temporary restraining order against the CDO.

Share this:

Like this:

Here’s What You Need To Know About COVID-19 Tests In The Philippines

By Ryanne Co

May 11, 2020

Dr. Minguita Padilla, medical team leader at Project ARK (Project Antibody Rapid Test Kits), gives us the lowdown on what we should know about the different kinds of tests available in the Philippines.

Manila has been under enhanced community quarantine for nearly two months. In a pre-COVID world, that would have been nearly unthinkable. But now, it’s a necessity — a “new normal” that has been thrust upon people to accept.

The key out of it? Testing. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has stressed the importance of mass testing in the fight to flatten the curve. One of the organisations at the helm of this movement is Project ARK, a private sector-led initiative that aims to introduce rapid antibody testing to companies and barangays in a bid to contain the spread of the virus. Today, Dr. Minguita Padilla, ophthalmologist and head of the medical team at Project ARK, tells us about what there is to know about COVID-19 testing right now.

What parts of the body does COVID-19 affect?

There is still so much scientists don’t know about COVID-19. What we know about it today can be disputed or reinforced tomorrow. But as of today, we know that COVID-19 doesn’t just affect the lungs. In some cases, it can affect other parts of the body including the eyes, the heart, the liver, the kidneys, and the intestines.

Currently, the WHO has released more symptoms for COVID-19. The full list includes fever, dry cough, and tiredness. They have also added aches and pains, nasal congestion, headache, conjunctivitis, sore throat, diarrhea, loss of taste or smell or a rash on skin or discolouration of fingers or toes to the list.

Was the lockdown necessary?

Lockdown was definitely necessary. Without it, the number of infections would have grown exponentially. One person has the ability to infect three other people, and each of those three individuals could infect another three.

On a macro level, what is the best way to handle COVID-19? How does our country compare?

In an ideal situation, there would have been swab tests done for everyone the moment the first few cases of COVID-19 were confirmed. Unfortunately, the country only had 2,000 test kits available until later on in the game. As of 4 May 2020, testing capacity stands at 3,000 tests a day.

It would also be best for test results to come out within 4-8 hours but turn around time within the past few months had been 5-7 days, and sometimes as long as 2 weeks. As of 2 May 2020, there has also been a backlog of 8,000 test results yet to be released.

What are the different types of tests available for COVID-19?

Here, Dr. Padilla makes two distinctions. First, there is the swab test also known as the real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test. This test identifies the virus through a throat or nasal swab. The swab is then transported in ice to a laboratory where machines can convert the specimen into data that can read as positive or negative. Results come out anywhere between hours to days. There’s also the rapid antibody testing, which is a blood test that identifies antibodies produced by the immune system. This is your body’s response as it develops immunity to the virus. This test can read two kinds of antibodies: the immunoglobulin M (IgM), which is your early immune response, and the immunoglobulin G (IgG), which is your delayed immune response.

IgM can be found in patients who are positive for COVID-19 by RT-PCR and are still infected and infectious. IgG is found in those previously tested as positive, but who have since recovered. Those with IgG can donate blood to the Philippine General Hospital for plasma therapy to help those who are currently positive but have not yet recovered.

What should you do after you use a rapid antibody test kit?

That depends on your results. Keep in mind that IgM is found in patients who are SARS-COV-2 positive. IgG is found in those previously tested positive, but who have since recovered.

If you have no symptoms, are negative for IgM, and positive for IgG then you are probably infected and developing immunity. It is best to self-isolate.

If you have no symptoms, are positive for IgM, but are also positive for IgG, then it’s best to self-isolate for another 14 days, take another rapid antibody test after that time, and check the results again.

If you have no symptoms, are positive for IgM, and are negative for IgG, then you are considered infected. It is best to self-isolate for 14 days and take an RT-PCR swab test.

If you have no symptoms, are negative for IgM, and are negative for IgG then you’re not likely to be infected but may consider taking a retest after 7 days.

If you have symptoms, then it is always best to self-isolate.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of these tests?

Speaking first on the swab test or the RT-PCR: the advantage is that this test can detect the virus up to 2 days before symptoms start to appear. The disadvantages, however, include the lengthy processing time in the country, as well as the possibility for human error in either of the processes involved (swabbing, transporting, extracting, reading). The RT-PCR can also pick up on the remnants of the virus that are no longer viable — as in the case of a confirmed patient who has recovered — leading to false positives.

The advantage to the rapid antibody test is that it’s quick, relatively inexpensive (should cost around Php400 – Php700), and easy to use. However, the disadvantage lies in the fact that accuracy depends on the sensitivity of the kit itself so the brand and manufacturer are quite important. It may also result in false negatives if one tests too early and the immune system has not had time to generate antibodies.

Who should be tested?

Unfortunately, due to lack of test kits, there is a hierarchy to follow in terms of who should be tested. Those that must be prioritised are:

All asymptomatic or symptomatic persons who have been in close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 patient

All asymptomatic or symptomatic persons who have been in close contact with a probable confirmed COVID-19 patient. According to the WHO, probable confirmed patients are suspect patients who have been tested for COVID-19 but with inconclusive results. Another definition for a probable confirmed patient are those who have tested positive for COVID-19, but the test was not conducted in an officially accredited laboratory for confirmatory testing. A suspect case for whom testing could not be performed (for any reason) is also a probable confirmed patient.

All symptomatic persons

Frontliners

Those with high-risk including diabetics, hypertensives, the immunosuppressed, the obese, and the elderly

Is Manila ready for general community quarantine?

According to Dr. Padilla, yes. But we must proceed with caution to avoid a second wave. On the bright side, Dr. Padilla has also noted that a few hospitals are less overwhelmed than they were a few weeks ago. The DOH, in partnership with a few private companies, has also promised to amp up testing to 30,000 a day by 30 May 2020.

Right now, it is best for everyone to stay calm but vigilant by wearing masks, constantly washing hands, and observing proper social distancing. It’s also best not to take the state of general community quarantine as an excuse to let our guard down, as carelessness and absent-mindedness can lead to another surge of infections, and in the worst case scenario, another lockdown.

(This is alarming, Mr President, if the secretary of health himself is spreading false information on COVID-19.)

Citing a situation report from the World Health Organization, Binay said the WHO didn’t say that asymptomatic cases are not contagious.

“There are few reports of laboratory-confirmed cases who are truly asymptomatic, and, to date, there has been no documented asymptomatic transmission. This does not exclude the possibility that it may occur,” Binay said.

Binay was reacting to the statement made by Duque during the Senate hearing on Wednedsay, May 20, when she asked him about how the government would trace “silent spreaders” of the disease.

Asymptomatic patients are those who show no symptoms of COVID-19, such as difficulty in breathing, dry cough, or cold, the Department of Health (DOH) said.

Meanwhile, Senator Migz Zubiri said he was “very alarmed” over Duque’s statement that the country is now in second wave of COVID-19 infections, going into 3rd.

“We are the only country in the world that has admitted that we are [in] the 2nd wave,” Zubiri said.

Zubiri added that the first 3 coronavirus cases in the Philippines were “not even a ripple.”

“How could that have been a wave?” Zubiri said.

According to Zubiri, Duque’s statements were “sowing panic amongst our people that we are [in] the second wave.”

“They should be very careful with their statements,” Zubiri said.

Several government offiicials also contradicted Duque’s statement.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea said he did not know what the health chief was talking about.

As of Thursday, the Philippines recorded 13,434 cases of coronavirus infections, with 846 deaths and 3,000 recoveries.

Palace contradicts DOH: Philippines still in first wave of COVID-19 infections

By: Darryl John Esguerra

INQUIRER.net

May 21, 2020

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is still in the first wave of the novel coronavirus outbreak, Malacañang said Thursday, refuting Health Secretary Francisco Duque III’s declaration that the country is now facing the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

During a Senate hearing on the government’s COVID-19 response Wednesday, Duque disclosed that the Philippines is actually on the second wave of COVID-19 infection now, citing data from epidemiology experts.

Duque’s statement, however, was met with opposition from some senators, lawmakers, and even government officials, especially after President Rodrigo Duterte himself has repeatedly mentioned trying to avoid a second wave of COVID-19 cases, which his economic managers said would be too costly to address.

The DOH explained that the first wave of infection occurred in late January when the Philippines recorded its first three confirmed cases involving Chinese tourists from Wuhan, the origin of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

It added that the second wave of more than 10,000 cases peaked at the end of March. It can be recalled that the DOH reported 583 new COVID-19 infections on March 31, the highest recorded new cases in a day.

Citing data from health professionals, Roque said the first wave started with the three COVID-19 positive Chinese nationals late January and went on until May when the Philippines started to report a decrease in coronavirus infections.

The problem of the Duterte Administration is that it has a SHALLOW BENCH. Duque, more of a politician than a doctor of medicine, was chosen on the recommendation of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. In other words, political expediency rather than expertise won out. The first Duterte Health Secretary, Ubial, was appointed on the basis of merely coming from Mindanao, thus did not have the personality, stature and vision to lead the national health bureaucracy. At a time of COVID 19 pandemic, Filipino lives are at stake more than ever. Frontliners have suffered heavily. The country needs a Health Secretary that can and would guide us in this time of living dangerously.

**********

Duterte scouting for new DOH chief?

Edith Regalado (The Philippine Star)

May 25, 2020

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — President Duterte is reportedly scouting for somebody to replace Francisco Duque III as health secretary amid calls for his resignation by members of the Senate and other sectors of society due to his handling of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

“I understand the President is now looking around for somebody to replace Duque,” a source told The STAR.

Another source, however, said the timing of the supposed firing of Duque, if not his resignation, comes at a time that the country is in the midst of the “battle against COVID-19.”

“It is hard to change horses midstream, so the President should not take long to act on it,” the source said.

Several sectors have claimed that Duque has lost the credibility to lead the country’s fight against COVID-19 after the Department of Health was accused of overpricing the procurement of medical equipment to battle the disease.

Duterte has ordered the immediate investigation of the matter.

“We hope the President will not take long to give Duque the way out. He has to go,” a Duterte Cabinet member, who asked not to be named, said.

The Senate quizzed Duque on overpriced purchases, but he pointed to the Department of Budget and Management as responsible for “the discrepancies in the purchases.”